European Patent Application No. EP 0 772 114 is directed toward a method of processing information in a system having at least two processing devices connected to a network. An order for processing informations has two parts, a job and a job ticket. A user of the system, prior to giving an order for processing information by the system, programs a job ticket so that there is selected from the system a combination of processing devices which can carry out the job settings that the user adds to an order. This takes into account the processing capabilities of the various processing devices and if required the actual available attributes thereof. The programmed job ticket can be stored by the user in a memory so that the job ticket can be used at a later stage and more than once. As soon as the user wants to give an actual order for the processing of the information to the system, for example the scanning of a set of originals, the archiving of information, the conversion of texts to word processor data (OCR), the printing of a number of reports etc., the user defines a job and combines it with a job ticket containing the required settings. This combination or order, is then fed to the system for performance.
This method has one important disadvantage. Since the user cannot give the actual order until a job ticket has been programmed, there is the risk that at the time that this order is given the selected processing device or devices are no longer suitable for carrying out the settings associated with the job.
For example, it is possible that a processing device is temporarily unavailable because another user is in the meantime using this device for a very extensive job. Furthermore, a specific processing device may in the meantime have been replaced by another type with fewer capabilities. In the case of printing devices in particular, it frequently happens that the required receiving materials, e.g. paper or film, or auxiliary materials, such as staples, are used up so that orders cannot be executed, or else only partly. In the case of processing devices adapted to transmitting data, such as facsimile devices or e-mail servers, there may be a long queue of data for transmission at the time that the above-mentioned user passes his order to the system. Particularly if there is a considerable interval of time between programming the job ticket and giving the actual order for processing the information, there is a considerable risk that the selected device or devices are not available for performing the order.
The consequence of this is that the user who defines the job and transmits it to the system is assuming that the system really will perform his job, while that probably will not happen (for example because a selected device has broken down), will happen much later (for example because a selected device is temporarily unavailable) or will happen only partly (because a specific processing capability of the device is not available).